Many local, state, and federal government agencies have replaced manual processes with computer and web-based systems. Increased efficiency and a reduction in human error are among the obvious benefits of such systems. Due to the service oriented nature of such agencies, self-service solutions to manual processes have lead to an even more substantial benefit: the wide-spread availability of information.
As an example, government tax agencies are responsible for requesting, receiving, analyzing, and auditing tax payments from a wide range of different taxpayers. Filing income taxes is a difficult endeavor for most taxpayers. As the complexity of the tax code has increased steadily in the past few decades, so too has the difficulty for individuals and businesses in maintaining compliance. This has contributed to the popularity of tax preparation software for electronic preparation and filing of personal income taxes.
Though many taxpayers file their income taxes under the advisement of tax preparation software and/or a tax professional (i.e., a certified public accountant), much of the process is cumbersome. Not only do requirements vary among different government agencies and jurisdictions, but employers and financial institutions also have differing and sometimes incompatible systems and requirements. After aggregating data from these various sources, taxpayers are required to manually enter the data into multiple forms which are then used to file with multiple different agencies.
Furthermore, employers, financial institutions, and other sources of tax data may not provide the necessary information on the same date or even prior to the deadline for tax filing. Thus, tax filings are sometimes delayed while the taxpayer gathers, analyzes, and enters the required data into the form required for submission.